HOW TO MAKE PLACES LOOK EMPTY IN YOUR HOLIDAY PHOTOGRAPHS

I love travel photography. Chances are, if you’re photographing beautiful places.. so are other people. Unless you can have private access to some of the worlds most beautiful places, then tourists are going to be in your photographs. But here are my 4 tips on avoiding getting tourists in your travel photographs (or making it appear like they’re not!).

Photograph above the heads

When there is a crowd of people, photograph the subject (building, landmark etc) above the heads.

For example.. When I visited the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, there was SO MANY PEOPLE. See…

So photograph above all of these people.. to create a people free photograph!

Crop

Crop your image. If you have tourists on either side of you, crop the photograph to a square.. making it look like there was no-one else there…

Wait…

Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and wait it out. If you really want the photo, then wait for the perfect moment. This works well in fairly quiet or bigger area tourist spots. Like a park or anywhere where there’s a lot of space (Even if it’s full of tourists, there’s still plenty of room).

I have stood there, looking through my camera, waiting for the split second that someone walks out of shot. It does happen but can take a little time..

Go at quiet times

Early mornings (who am I kidding? I’d have no clue if places are less busy in early morning) but I’ve heard they are!

I also find places are less busy in the evening. Especially places with a high population of cruise tourists.. as they usually get back on the ship! Leaving the place a little emptier. 

Quiet times of year help too.. Avoid school holidays etc. I know this is easier said than done (and a lot of trouble to go to) but it helps!